Legacy & Estate Planner
Build a three-layer legacy and name your beneficiaries right. A five-minute beneficiary review prevents the most common and most damaging life-insurance errors.
Three layers: parent policy, child policy, ILIT.
Why insure a child
Insuring a child locks in insurability for life. A small permanent policy bought on a healthy child secures a guaranteed low premium and guaranteed coverage regardless of later health. If the child develops a condition at twelve, the policy bought at birth is already in force at the original rate. The cash value grown over decades also gives the child a running start — a down payment, a first business loan, or a graduate-school fund.
The three-layer legacy
Layer 1 — Parent policy: replace your income for dependents.
Layer 2 — Child policy / rider: guarantee the children's insurability for life.
Layer 3 — ILIT: an irrevocable life insurance trust owns the policies and receives the death benefit, keeping it outside the taxable estate and protected from creditors.
Beneficiary designer
Naming beneficiaries right
The death benefit passes to named beneficiaries, generally outside probate — a major advantage. But minors can't receive funds directly without a guardian, and estates as beneficiaries pull the money back into probate. Name specific people, name contingent beneficiaries in case a primary predeceases you, and update after every major life event.
Estate planning with an ILIT involves legal and tax considerations — work with both an agent and an estate attorney.